Childhood Friend
by nukagirl
Summary: Al thinks back to all the times he has had with his childhood friend. His first kiss. He founds out shocking news that makes him face his fears and return to Reisembol.
1. Chapter 1

"Big Brother

"_Big Brother?" Alphonse asked, looking down at Edward from their tree. _

"_Yeh?" Edward answered, swinging on the swing._

"_Are angels real?" Al asked, in his innocent five year old voice. _

"_What?!" his six year old brother asked. He looked up at Al, who was looking out towards the town._

"_There's an angel at that old house" Al replied. Edward frowned and then climbed the tree. Once he reached the branch above Al, he looked into the same direction._

"_That's not an angel, that's just the new neighbours" Ed told Al._

"_But she so beautiful" Al said, in awe._

"_Come one, that's go meet them" Edward laughed, climbing back down the tree._

"_Mum, we're going to meet the new neighbours" Ed and Al shouted, running past the house._

"_Ok, dears, be back by dinner" Trisha called back to them._

_Al and Ed ran through the grave yard and into the small town. Al and Ed laughed as they ran through their home town. It was a hot day, making everything seem bright._

"_What's the rush, boys?" asked the baker as they ran past._

"_The old house has new people" Ed shouted, waving a hand. Al and Ed came to a stop at the house gates. There was a horse and carriage by the front door, which was being unloaded of furniture and boxes. A man was looking around the garden when he spotted the two boys looking in from the gate. He smiled and walked over to them. _

"_Hello, boys" he said, opening the gate._

"_Hello, sir" Al and Ed said together._

"_Are you moving in?" Edward asked. The man nodded. _

"_Yeh, I'm Thomas Bloom" the man told them._

"_I'm Edward Elric and this is my little brother, Alphonse" Ed told Thomas politely._

"_It's great to see children your age here, that means my daughter will have someone to play with" Thomas smiled._

"_Daddy!" came a sweet, young voice. A small girl skipped to Thomas side, smiling and holding a blue flower. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks. Her eyes were crystal blue and were bright with joy. There were tiny freckles shattered across her nose._

"_Look, Daddy, I found this flower" she smiled._

"_What a beautiful flower" Thomas said. The girl spotted Ed and Al. Al blushed as she smiled at him._

"_Hi, I'm Rebecca, let's be friends!" _

Al sighed as he looked at the calendar that was hanging up on the wall. It was dark outside and the light came from the moon that was shiny through the window. It reflected on Al's armour, making small lights dance across the room.

"_We'll be friends forever, right, Al?" Rebecca asked her six year old friend. They were lying on the grass, looking up at the clouds._

"_Yeh, forever and ever and ever" Alphonse replied._

"_Pinky promise?" Rebecca asked, holding her hand above their heads._

"_Pinky promise" Al laughed, curling his little finger around hers._

Al looked over to his sleeping brother, who was snoring slightly. Ed's automail arm was tucked under his head and he had his other hand on his exposed stomach. As quiet as he could manage, Al creped out of the room and down the dark hallway. Sig's snores echoed the whole way through the house, shaking Al's metal body.

"_Al?" Rebecca asked, an umbrella held in her hand. The rain was pouring from the sky. Al didn't reply, but stayed looking at his mother's grave with glazed eyes. Rebecca sat down next to him, covering them both with the umbrella._

"_My mum died as well" Rebecca told him. Tears ran from Al's eyes._

"_Daddy says that she has gone to a happy place called heaven, where she can't feel pain, only happiness and joy" Rebecca continued._

"_It's not fair" Al whispered, "I…I want her to be happy…with big brother and me"_

"_Your mum is looking over you now from heaven" Rebecca told him. Al looked at the white grave stone._

"_We're going to get her back…we're going to bring her back to life" Al said, faintly. Rebecca looked confused._

"_But…but that's impossible" she whispered. Al shook his head._

"_Nothing's impossible" he told her, "We're going to see our mum smiled again" _

Al found the way to the roof and sat down, looking up at the stars. It was a clear night, with a full moon.

"_Write me letters" Rebecca cried as she ran along with the train. Winry ran beside her._

"_Yeh, you better send us a postcard" she laughed. _

"_Don't worry, we will" Ed shouted, leaning out the window._

"_One every day" Al promised. Izumi laughed beside him. He waved out the window. The platform came to an end, and Rebecca stopped running, but started to wave._

"_I'll miss you" she shouted. _

Al watched as two cats nuzzled each other on a wall below him, and his soul smiled.

"_Stand back" Al smiled, finishing his transmutation circle. Rebecca's eyes lit up as Al placed his hands on the ground. A bright light erupted from the ground. When it died down, a wooden cat appeared._

"_Wow! You've got so much better" Rebecca smiled as Al handed it to her, "Alchemy sure comes in handy when you forget someone's birthday" Rebecca laughed. _

"_I said I was sorry" Al moaned, "I've been just so busy lately" _

"_I know" Rebecca said, "You worry me, Alphonse, you are always studying hard" Al shrugged._

"_It will be worth it" he smiled. _

Al stretched out, lying down on the cold roof. The cold which he could not feel.

"_Do you have to go?" Al asked, sitting on the bench next to Rebecca. She sighed._

"_Yes, my Dad said that now that I'm ten, I need to go to a boarding school so I can learn more"_

"'_Tis not fair" Al sulked, leaning against the back of the bench._

"_I'll be back in a year" Rebecca said, taking his hand._

"_But that's ages away" Al said, looking at her with sad eyes._

"_You'll be here, right?" Rebecca asked, a slight pleading in her voice._

"_Yeh, I promise" Al smiled. Rebecca smiled and lent over and kissed Al on the lips. Al turned red. _

"_Bye, Alphonse" Rebecca said, before getting up and walking off. _

Al was so drafted into his thoughts, that he didn't hear the door to the roof open. Ed peered onto the rood, seeing his younger brother there.

"_Al! Al!" came a familiar voice, cheery voice. Rebecca ran into the Rockbell's hone. Her cheerful eyes disappeared as she saw the sight in front of her. _

_Ed was leaning heavily on Winry as he re-learnt to walk. He was clinging to her, with his new automail arm._

"_Ed!" Rebecca gasped. Edward smiled as sweat dripped down his face._

"_Hi, Becks, nice to see you back" _

"_What…what happened?" Rebecca asked, her hands covering her mouth in horror as she looked at Ed's new limbs._

"_Eh…I was in a bit of an accident" Ed half-laughed._

"_Are you ok?" Rebecca asked, nervously. She looked into his eyes. They were hallow and empty. Ed swallowed._

"_I've been better" he admitted. Tears whelmed in Rebecca's eyes as she watched Winry place Ed into a chair._

"_Where's Al? Was he in the accident as well?" Rebecca asked, panic to form on her face. Ed's face immediately grew more sad. _

"_Yeh…he…his in the kitchen, helping Granny" Winry told her. Rebecca ran to the kitchen._

"_Al!" she shouted, running through the door. But all she could see in the kitchen was Pinako and a suit of armour near the stove, who looked round at her._

"_Mrs Rockbell, do you know where Alphonse is?" Rebecca asked, desperately. Pinako looked at her and then the suit of armour. _

"_Rebecca…I'm Alphonse" he said, nervously. _

"_Al?" Rebecca said, uncertainly, her eyes widening. Al nodded._

"_Ed…Ed said you were in an accident…why are you wearing armour?" Rebecca asked, frowning. Al seemed speechless. _

"_I…er…erm…" he whispered. Rebecca stood there, shaking._

"_I'm….I don't look good, so I have this armour" Al lied._

"_Oh…what happened?" Rebecca asked, worry on her face. Just at that moment, a cat came running through the open back door. Den was barking and chasing it. The cat ran in-between Al's legs and into the living room. Den followed the cat through Al's legs, causing Al to trip over. The metal hamlet flew off and landing with a 'clang' on the floor._

"_Al!" Rebecca yelled, rushing to his side. But then she gasped. She saw into the armour, into the empty shell._

"_Wha…what!?" she asked, backing off._

"_Rebecca...I…I can explain!" Al told her, standing up. Rebecca backed off even more, before tripping over the hamlet._

"_You're empty!!" she yelled, in fear, as she fell over. _

"_Becky…" Al said, sadness in his voice._

"_Get away from me!!" she yelled, tears running down her face. She stood up and ran from the room._

"_Rebecca!" Al cried out, putting his head back on and running after her. The front door slammed shut. _

"_NO!!" Al cried, opening the door. Rebecca was running as fast as she could, tripping a couple of times._

"_Rebecca!" Al shouted, falling to his knees. Ed and Winry watched him. Al bent his head forward, his shoulders shaking. Ed stood up, leaning heavily on the chair arm. Winry stood up, ready to help but Ed shook her off. He slowly made his way to Al._

"_I'm sorry, Al" Ed whispered, collapsing next to him, "I'm sorry" _

"Hey" Ed said, standing next to him. Al looked up.

"Hey" he replied, quietly, before looking back up at the stars. Ed sat down next to Al, shivering slightly.

"You should be in bed" Al told him. Ed shrugged.

"I sensed you need to talk" he replied. There was a silence, before Ed continued, "The sate on the calendar, what is it?"

"Rebecca's birthday" Al replied quietly.

"Oh" Ed mumbled, slightly shocked. There was another silence, this one stretching out for longer. Ed figured that if Al needed to say something, he would say it better if left to the quiet air.

"The worst part of this body…" Al nearly whispered, "…is that I can't show any emotion" Ed looked at Al, the same guilt building up in him.

"I can't show happiness, sadness, angry…I can't even show love" Al told his older brother.

"Sure you can, I know when you're happy or sad" Ed tried to reassure him.

"Yeh, but no one else can, no one else can tell when I'm scared, or upset, or filled with joy" Al said quietly, "I look just like an empty, emotionless shell, unable to feel"

"Is this about Rebecca?" Ed asked, giving a sad look.

"She was my first kiss" Al distantly said, "…and I so want a second"

"You'll get your body back, I promise" Ed told him.

"It's not that…it's that Rebecca thinks I'm a monster" Al sighed, "I just want to see her again"

"We could go back to Reisembol" Ed suggested.

"I…I can't…not until I get my body back" Al whispered, clutching his fist tight. Ed looked at his younger brother, feeling tears come to his eyes, because of the armour boy's determination. Ed shivered again and sneezed. This seemed to bring Al back to reality.

"Big Brother, you'll catch a cold" he said as Ed wiped his nose. Al stood up and offered a hand to Ed.

"Come on" Al said.

**First chapter out the way. This is just a random story I came up with. Please review. Flames welcome but nothing too harsh. Nuk xx **


	2. Chapter 2

"Al

"_Al! Alphonse! Ed!" Rebecca shouted, running through the small town. A book was clutched in her hand, "AL!" She ran to the Rockbell's, and banged on the door._

"_Al! AL!" she yelled, tears coming to her eyes. Pinako answered the door._

"_Rebecca, dear" she said, letting the young girl in. _

"_Where are they?! Where are Al and ED?! The house, it's-"_

"_Burnt down, we know" Pinako sadly said._

"_Where is Al?!" Rebecca demanded, tears rolling down her cheeks._

"_They're gone" Winry whispered. She was crying at the table. _

"_What!?" Rebecca gasped. Winry looked up at her, eyes red. _

"_Ed joined the military…Al went with him" Winry told her._

"_Why?" Rebecca whispered, clutching the book tight to her chest._

"_To find a way to get their original bodies back" Pinako replied. Rebecca fall to her knees, crying. _

"_I'm…sorry, Alphonse" she cried, crying into the old, worn brown book, titles 'Beginners Guide to Alchemy' _

"Edward! Alphonse! Get your lazy butts down here!" Izumi yelled up the stairs. Ed jumped awake and Al jumped up, shaking.

"What did we do now?!" he asked in fear. Ed's eyes showed fear as well.

"Come on" he squeaked, scared at what their teacher was going to do to them.

"Teacher! What is wrong?" Al asked. Izumi chucked the phone at them. It hit Ed straight in the head.

"Big Brother!!" Al squealed.

"Someone's on the phone for you" Izumi said, before walking away.

"Hello?" Ed said into the phone, while rubbing his head. Al sat down at the table, reading the stray Alchemy book that was there.

"Oh, hi, Winry, what's up?" Ed said, a faint smile on his lips. There was a short pause.

"Yeh…we were actual talking about her last night" Ed said, his voice changing. It now sounded concerned. Al looked up.

"Really?...That's terrible"

"What Big Brother? What is it?" Al asked, standing. Ed went quiet, bowing his head slightly. Al could hear Winry talking, but couldn't make out what she was saying.

"Ok…Yeh….yeh, we'll be there as soon as possible…yeh, I'll tell him" Ed said, quietly.

"Big Brother?!" Al asked, fear in shi voice, as Ed hanged up the phone. Ed gave him a weak smile.

"What is it?!" Al begged, panic in his voice.

"Rebecca was in…in a bombing a couple of months ago" Ed told Al.

"What!?" Al asked, "Is she ok? Big Brother?" he went to Ed and shook him slightly, "Please tell me she's ok"

"She lost both her legs" Ed said, sadly. Al let go of Ed, and fall back into his chair.

"She is in the middle of the Automail surgery" Ed continued. Al covered his head with his hands. Ed was sure if he could, Al would be crying right now. Ed placed a hand on Al's shoulder.

"Winry said that Rebecca has been asking for you" Ed told him.

"Re…really?" Al asked, shocked. He looked up at his older brother. Ed nodded.

"I told Winry we'll go there"

"Let's pack then" Al said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Are you going somewhere?" Izumi asked, re-entering the room. Ed nodded.

"Yeh, our friend has been seriously injured" He replied. Izumi looked at him.

"Well, come back soon" Izumi said. Ed nodded again.

A couple of hours later, Ed and Al were on the Train on the way to Resembool. Ed was asleep, taking up the whole seat. Al was staring out the window, twisting his hands around each other in worry. His eyes caught two little kids on the train. There was a boy with blondy brown hair. He was asleep, with a little girl with brown hair laying her head on his lap, also asleep. Al watched them, wishing he was still that young.

"_Al! Al! Where are you?! Dinner is ready!" Edward shouted, walking through the house. He sighed, fed up of looking for his little brother. He walked to their room and noticed that the light was on._

"_Al" Ed sighed, opening the door, "Al, dinner's re-" Ed started but stopped. Al was fast asleep in the window seat, a book in his lap. Rebecca was asleep as well, her head rested on Al's shoulder. Ed sighed again, but this time with a smile tagging at his lips. He picked up a blanket from the bed and covered the two seven year olds with it. Edward picked up the book and crept out._

"_Teaching her alchemy again?" he whispered, before leaving quietly. _

"We're here, big brother" Alphonse said, standing up nervously.

"You ok, Al?" Ed asked, picking up his suitcase and shaking the tiredness out of his hands. Al was shaking.

"Yeah…." Al said, letting Ed lead the way out of the train. It was getting dark, so Ed and Al went straight to the Rockbell's. it was a quiet walk, with neither Ed nor Al saying a word.

Den greeted them by the gate, wigging his tail in joy.

"Hey, Den" Ed smiled, stroking the dog's back. He began to walk up the path, but stopped when he noticed that Al wasn't following him. The suit of armour was staring up at a lightened window. It was the room where the automail surgery was done. The light was normally off, unless someone was undergoing the agonising procedure. As they stood there, a painful scream filled the air. Ed paled, clutching his metal arm.

"Come on, Al…she needs you right now" Ed said. Al nodded, slowly and walked to the house.

"Ed! Al! You're here!" Winry smiled, standing up from the kitchen table. She looked tried and pale through the smiled.

"When was the last time you slept?" Ed asked.

"I hardly ever sleep when there is automail surgery going on" Winry yawned, "But it has been terrible with Becky" she yawned again, "You see, there is normally someone here that is related to the person, like their parents or partner, but Rebecca has no one so me and Granny has been taking it in shifts to watch over her" Winry explained, wrapping her hands round her hot coco. Ed looked shocked.

"But what about here Dad?" Al asked. Winry looked down into her lap.

"Didn't you know?...Her Dad died two years ago"

"What?!" Ed and Al both gasped, looking at her.

"She is all alone" Winry said, sadly. Ed and Al looked at each other. They may think their lives were heard and unfair at times, but they always had each other and the people around them. There was a silence for a moment before Winry got up and walked over to Al.

"Alphonse…I know that the last time you saw Rebecca, it wasn't a good experience, but you have to believe me that Rebecca has regretted what she said since that day" Winry took Al's hands, "She has missed you so much, and the name she keeps saying in her sleep is yours"

"I…" Al said, speechless. He looked at the floor, his wide shoulders shaking, "I wish I could cry"

_Rebecca walked through the small town. She had a suitcase in one hand and a bag of books in the other. She had spent the last two days travelling in a horse and carriage so was glad to be able to stretch her legs. _

"_Hey, Becky" called a boy who was working in the fields. Rebecca smiled and waved as the boy walked over to her._

"_Hello, Fred" she greeted._

"_Wow! Two old faces in one weekend" Fred said, wiping his brow, "Edward Elric was walking through here a couple of days ago" Rebecca's eyes widened. _

"_Ed! He was here?" she asked. Fred nodded._

"_Yeh, him and his brother were staying at the Rockbell's" he explained._

"_Are they still here?" Rebecca asked, desperately._

"_I don't know….they might be" Rebecca started to ran off into the direction of the Rockbell's._

"_Thanks" she shouted, waving a hand. Her feet automatically lead the way to the house. Den barked at her lazily as she jumped the porch steps. Rebecca knocked on the door, and waited. Pinako answered. The old woman gave a smile._

"_Hello, Rebecca"_

"_Good morning, Mrs Rockbell, is Al and Ed here?" Rebecca asked._

"_I'm sorry dear, but they have already left for the train station" Pinako replied, looking at the clock, "You might be able to catch them, but I-" Pinako started, but Rebecca had already ran off._

_Please still be there, Rebecca begged as she ran as fast as she could to the train station. As she was nearing it, Rebecca heard the whistling of the train, meaning it was leaving._

"_No!" Rebecca shouted, running into the train station._

"_No! Stop! Stop!" Rebecca cried, chasing after it as it began to speed up. The platform came to end and Rebecca fall to her knees, heavy tears pouring down her cheeks._

"_Al!" she yelled, watching as the train disappeared. _


	3. Chapter 3

Al stood outside the door. He could hear Rebecca's soft moans of pain. Pinako had informed him that she was fast asleep, before going to bed herself.

Al's hand was on the door handle. The hallway was dark and quiet. Al was scared. What if Rebecca rejects him again? Al didn't think he could deal with that again.

"Al…Alphonse" Al heard Rebecca mumble in her sleep. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

It had been four years since Al had last seen her. Rebecca's brown hair was still short, but the shine had disappeared and it was dull and messy. Her skin was pale, with droplets of sweat running down her forehead. Her hands were clutching the bed sheets and her gentle face was screwed in pain. Rebecca's legs were gone and thick wires were connected to where Rebecca's thighs should be. Al looked at her.

He wanted to call out. For tears to start to whelm in his eyes. He wanted to hold his childhood friend in his warm arms and take the pain away. But Al couldn't do any of that, so he quietly walked over to the bed. There was a chair next to it, which Al sunk into and took Rebecca's hot hand. The crease in Rebecca's forehead decreased slightly.

"Al…" she mumbled.

"I'm here, Becks" Al whispered, rubbing her hand softly with his thumb. Rebecca's grip tightened as she let out a cry of pain. Al put his other hand on Rebecca's forehead. Rebecca's face screwed up in pain again. Tears began to leak from under her closed eye lids

"Rebecca" Al tried to smooth her, stroking her hair slightly.

A couple of hours passed. Rebecca had been in consent pain. She thrusted around in her sleep and yelled several times.

"NOOO!" Rebecca screamed, suddenly sitting up, the best she could. She blinked several times, before hiding her head in her hands as tears rolled heavily down her cheeks.

"Rebecca!" Al said, in concern, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Rebecca jumped and looked up, slowly. Her eyes widened.

"Alphonse!?" she asked, her throat croaked and empty.

"Are you ok?" Al asked. Rebecca looked into Al's red eyes.

"Is it really you, Al?" she asked, reaching out a hand and touching Al's metal face. Al nodded. There was a short pause, before more tears began to fall from Rebecca's dull eyes. Those eyes were once filled with joy and excitement, wonder and hope. All that had vanished, and all that was left was emptiness, despair and sorrow.

Rebecca hugged Al tightly. This surprised Al, but he hugged back, wishing there weren't spicks on his amour.

"Sorry, I'm probably really cold" Al said, slightly embarrassed. Rebecca laughed, weakly and sniffed.

"Yeah, but it's nice because the pain makes me really hot" Al wished he could feel Rebecca's soft skin, and that she could feel his.

"I'm sorry, Al, I'm so sorry" Rebecca cried, clinging to him tighter.

"You were forgiven the day last saw you" Al replied. Rebecca smiled, tears falling heavily from her eyes, before she let out a cry of pain.

She fell back onto the bed, her chest heaving in agony.

"Rebecca!?" Al asked, worry echoing through his words.

"_Hey, look! Al!" Rebecca laughed, climbing another branch of the tree, "I'm getting higher!" Al looked down at her and laughed._

"_You can see the whole town from here" he told her. Rebecca grabbed hold of another branch, nearly reaching Al. But there was a creak, and the branch broke. Rebecca let out a scream of fear as she fall to the ground ten feet below her. As she hit the ground, she let out another scream, this one was in pain._

"_Rebecca!!" Al yelled, climbing back down the tree. He jumped the last three feet, and landed next to her. Rebecca was holding her leg, tears streaming down her face._

"_Rebecca, are you ok?!" Al asked, kneeling down next to her._

"_My….my leg" she cried, shutting her eyes. Al looked at it, and saw that it was bent at a weird angle slightly. _

"_MUM!!!" Al yelled, a trace of panic in his voice._

"_It…it hurts, Al" Rebecca cried, as Trisha ran out of the house._

"_It's ok, I'm here with you, you're be ok" Al promised, hugging her comfortingly._

Al took Rebecca's hand again, and squeezed it slightly.

"It's going to be ok, I'm here, and you're going to bed ok" Al told her. Rebecca tried to smile, as another wave of pain overtook her. she squeezed Al's hand so tightly, that Al was sure if he could feel, it would hurt. Tears streamed down her pale face, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"How did you get like this?" Al asked faintly, anger and sadness in his echoing voice. Rebecca let out another moan of pain before beginning her story.

"I was on a train…coming home…there was this little boy who looked just like you when you were six sitting near me…there was also a man with dark skin and red eyes sitting at the back of the train with a backpack on" A sob erupted from Rebecca's throat and she squeezed Al's hand tighter, "He blow himself up and the train…one moment I was looking out the window, the next I was lying on the flood, blood everywhere….the little boy was lying near me, and I crawled over to him…but it was t…too late" she looked up at the ceiling, tears blinding her, "He died…and I was left with no legs" Rebecca closed her yes again, her hand clutching at her one of stump which use to be her leg.

"I dream about it every night…the blood, the screaming, bits of people shattered everywhere…them cold, dead eyes" Al listened, sadness filling the suit of armour. Rebecca was only 15 years old. Too young, too innocent to have to face that and the surgery she was undergoing right now.

"Why did you choose automail?" Al asked, stroking her brown hair, gently.

"_Rebecca!" Winry said, entering the hospital room. Rebecca was popped up on pillows. She smiled weakly when she saw Winry. Winry rushed over to her and they hugged tightly._

"_You didn't have to come all the way here" Rebecca told her, as they broke apart. _

"_Don't be stupid, we've been friends since we were five" Winry told her, "And Al would kill me if he found out" she added, as she sat down on the edge of the bed. There was a silence for a moment, before Rebecca asked Winry a question. _

"_Can you do the automail surgery on me, please?" Winry looked at her, sadness shadowing her eyes._

"_Becks, the surgery is very painful…you can sill lead a normal live without legs" she told her friend. Rebecca shook her head._

"_I need legs…I have places to go and people to meet…I have things I need to do…I need legs" Rebecca told Winry, determined. Winry smiled, faintly._

"_Anyway, if Edward can do it, I can do it!" Rebecca laughed, uneasily. _

"_Yeah, he's such a wimp" Winry laughed._

"_Are they ok? Do you know?" Rebecca asked. Winry smiled at her, and took her hand._

"_Yeah, they are staying at their old teacher's house at the moment, remember her?" Winry asked. Rebecca nodded._

"_Yeah, she was so scary, I'm surprised they came back in one piece last time" Rebecca said._

"_They're still looked for a way to get their original bodies back" Winry told her. Rebecca looked down at her sheets._

"_I can never get my legs back…that's why I need you" She said, quietly._

"_You will have to wait until your legs have healed over, before surgery can begin, that could take a couple of months" Winry told her. Rebecca tightened her hold her Winry's hand slightly. _

"_Ok, and I can pay you all the money you need, Father left me quite a bit" she said. Tears began form in her eyes. Winry hugged her tightly again._

"_You're so brave, Becks, your Dad would be so proud" Winry told her. Rebecca nodded, clinging to Winry's top._

The sun peaked in through the window, announcing morning. Rebecca was asleep again, her head resting on Al's cool body. The door opened, and Ed came in, balancing a tray.

"Good morning" he smiled, before al shhsed him. Ed laid down the tray of food, and stood next to Al.

"I remember that it was so hard to get to sleep, so you should leave her, Becky can have her breakfast later" Ed whispered, but just at that moment, Rebecca stirred and opened her eyes.

"Ah, well done, Big Brother!" Al said. Ed put his hands up in defence.

"Sorry!"

"It's ok, I was half awake anyway, the mention of food woke me up fully" Rebecca explained, stretching her arms up. Ed looked at her and smiled, sadly.

"It's great to see you again" he said, giving her a tight hug, which Rebecca returned, "I just wished it was for different reasons" Rebecca nodded.

"Yeah, me too" she said as they broke apart, "You're still as small as ever"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL YOU COULD SQUESH WITH A BABY'S SHOE!!!??" Ed yelled, his normal anger building up. Rebecca laughed, as Al held his brother back. Seeing the smile on Rebecca's face, Ed began to calm down and he laughed as well. Al joined them.

"You two haven't changed at all" Rebecca said, looking at both of them, "Still the same old Ed and Al" Ed smiled and sat down on the bed. Al sat on the chair again.

"Thanks, after all we've been through, it's good to hear that sometimes" Al said. Rebecca started to eat her breakfast, her shallows painful.

"I never did found out how you ended up like this" she said, looking at Al's armour and Ed's metal arm.

"You…you know I told you we were going to get our mum back?" Al asked. Rebecca thought for a moment, before nodding her head.

"Well….we tried" Ed continued. Rebecca's eyes widened.

"What?!" she asked, shocked. Ed looked at his clutched hands.

"We tried to bring out mum back by using Alchemy" Al told her.

"But that's against the laws of Alchemy" Rebecca whispered. Al nodded.

"It rebounded, and I lost my whole body, and Ed lost his left leg" he said. Rebecca listened, her hands shaking slightly.

"Al was gone, so I exchanged my right arm for his soul and sealed it to this suit of armour" Ed finished.

"But…..but if Al's whole body was lost, you must have got something in return" Rebecca asked. Both Al and Ed fell silent.

"It was a monster…" Ed said, closing his eyes shut and clutching his fists tighter, "It wasn't our mum" Rebecca reached over and took his hand, and then Al's. She smiled weakly at them.

"Your mum is looking down on you from heaven, guiding you through everything and it doesn't matter what you do, she will still love you and be so proud of who you are" Rebecca told them both. Ed smiled and Al hugged her.

"Thanks" they both said. Ed then noticed something on Rebecca's wrest. It was a bracelet with a little charm hanging from it. On the charm there was a small circle.

"Is that a transmute circle?" Ed asked, looking at it. Rebecca nodded, biting her lip as another wave of pain overtook her.

"Yeah….It's easier to….do transmutations without drawing a transmute circle all the…time" she breathed. Both Ed and Al looked shocked.

"Can you do Alchemy?" Al asked. Rebecca let out another groan of pain and nodded. She put her hand over her knife and closed her eyes in concentration. The charm began to glow and the knife slowly bent together, and formed a shape. The glowing stopped and a small figure was left. It was a figure of Al in his armour.

"Wow!" Ed said, shocked.

"That's brilliant, Becks!" Al said, and looked at her. She had fallen asleep.

"With the pain she is in, that must have tired her out" Ed told Al, before picking up the figure and looking at it, "Great detail" Ed gave it to Al, and then went to leave"

"Just let her sleep" Al nodded, and followed Ed out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He clutched the little figure in his hand, sighing.

_Rebecca laid on her stomach in her dark room, her legs swinging in the air. She looked at the book laid out in front of her, and began to carefully copy the diagram given. She went over the chalk lines thickly, before moving so she was kneeling. _

_Rebecca looked at the picture on the desk above her. It was of her and Alphonse when they were about eight years old. They were smiling, their arms wrapped around each other._

"_Well, here it goes, Al…wish me luck" Rebecca said aloud, before placing her hands on the circle and closing her eyes in concentration._

_Nothing happened for a minute, and Rebecca's shoulders fall down. But then a strong breeze began to fill the room, and Rebecca's hair blew around her face. Rebecca opened her eyes and a bright light shone from the circle. Her eyes widened as a shape formed. A little longer, and the glowing stopped. Rebecca took a deep breath and raised her hands. _

_In the middle of the circle was a stuffed toy in the shape of Al. it had brown hair and a big smile. The carpet around the toy had gone, leaving exposed floor boards._

"_Wow!" Rebecca breathed, picking up the slightly lumpy toy, "I actual did it"_

_Tears began to from in her eyes as she hugged the toy tight. _


End file.
